Yankees Domingo German’s unsuccessful bid spoiled by bullpen

BOSTON – For seven rounds on Sunday, Domingo German made history a race.

But after losing his hit on the first batter he faced in the eighth inning, he could only watch from the relief of the relievers as the Yankees box dumped his effort in the sewers.

The German jewel in seven innings was wasted, turning into a brutal 5-4 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park as the Yankees delivered their last self-inflicted dagger in their season.

“If I can explain it, it’s like you’re on top of the world and all of a sudden you’re falling down and falling fast,” German said through an interpreter. “It’s hard. It’s so hard to understand what happened, how it happened. It’s even hard to analyze everything that is happening so fast. Extremely hard.

The German had one of the best starts of his career, pitching over seven innings and allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out 10 on strikes. His 93rd and final pitch of the day was a curved ball strung to right field by Alex Verdugo to start the eighth inning.

Right fielder Greg Allen, who said after the game that the game “always crossed my mind a lot”, turned to retrieve the ball and was unable to play as it fell on the track. warning for a double.

Manager Aaron Boone entered the day not wanting to push the German too far beyond 80 shots, he said, as the right-hander was still recovering after three appearances in relief that he had made around the star break. The German had only thrown 70 shots in his last start, which is why Boone said he didn’t consider keeping the German in the game after giving up his first hit.

“I already knew we were in that danger zone a bit, so I’m just going to hit for sure then,” Boone said. “I was certainly a little uncomfortable where we were, but given that he was as efficient as he was and was throwing in addition, and obviously not having given up a shot yet. sure I was going to let him go from batter to batter and continue to have to make a decision.

Although German said he was not feeling tired, Jonathan Loaisiga relieved him and took a blowtorch for his outing.

German, who had never pitched an eighth inning pitch in any start in his career, became the first Yankee to pitch seven innings without a hitting against the Red Sox since Mike Mussina in 2001, according to ESPN. But he ended up with a bitter taste in his mouth.

“I was throwing shots, trying to be as careful as possible while navigating their lineup,” German said. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish what I really wanted there, go through with it and have a different outcome.”